In the field of human body support structures, such as bicycle saddles, car seats or the like, is increasingly desired to provide a structure, which combines light weight and resistance to the various mechanical stresses that can occur during normal use of the vehicle. Also, attempts are being made to develop new solutions which increase seating comfort and provide a more effective distribution of cyclist's weight as well as an improved shock absorption.
As is known, in conventional saddles, the connection to the seat post is accomplished by rigid members, typically two metal rods, e.g. made of steel or an alloy, which are longitudinally arranged below the lower support of the saddle, at a proper distance from each other. These rods are secured to the saddle and the seat post by various mechanical connection means, such as plates and screws.
This conventional solution has the apparent drawback of adding weight to the structure and of employing an external element, which greatly affects aerodynamic properties. Also, metal structures do not allow simple and stable adjustments and the various stresses acting on the saddle during normal use may cause such rods to be misaligned with respect to the saddle structure.
Finally, with light weight being an aim of saddle design, increasingly expensive materials have been used, such as titanium or advanced composites, which are not always cost-effective.
In an attempt to obviate the above drawbacks, a few solutions have been proposed, in which the lower support of the saddle is solid with the connection to the seat post.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,578 discloses a bicycle saddle in which the connection with the seat post consists of a single longitudinally extending rail, formed integrally with the support. Nevertheless, this solution has the apparent drawback of further stiffening the whole structure of the saddle, thus preventing the insertion of any means for improving shock absorption.
Hence, the stresses associated to normal cycling can only dampened by the pad between the upper cover and the lower support. As a result, the stresses are poorly taken up by the saddle, and are almost entirely transmitted to the user.
DE-U1-29529969 discloses a bicycle saddle with a support structure having all the features of the preamble of the main claim 1. This known support structure is made of metal rods and thus is relatively heavy and uncomfortable.